Method for installing wood flooring

ABSTRACT

There is provided a flooring system for hardwood floors comprised of a plurality of elongated slats wherein the slats are held in position by a plurality of connectors, each connector having a base secured to a substrate, a vertical portion extending upwardly from the base, and a generally horizontal portion extending into a groove formed in a sidewall of the elongated slat. The system permits the slats to be installed with a minimum of labor and also permits removal of the slats and their later re-use.

The present application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10/287,575 filed Nov. 4, 2002, which in turn is a continuation-in-a-part of application Ser. No. 09/915,069 filed Jul. 25, 2001.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a connector and more particularly, relates to a connector for use in a flooring system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are many different types of flooring which are used both in residential and commercial applications. Flooring systems range from hardwood floors to various composite wood products, tiles, linoleum, slate, carpets, etc. Each of the aforementioned types of flooring has various advantages and disadvantages, with some of the parameters for suitability for any particular installation being cost of the flooring material, cost of installation, durability, appearance, ease of maintenance, etc.

For residential and many commercial installations, the use of wood and particularly a hardwood is considered desirable especially from an aesthetic viewpoint. Historically, some of the drawbacks associated with hardwood flooring have been the cost of installation and maintenance. Typically, hardwood flooring comes in slats of solid wood which must be secured to a substrate. In most instances, the wood slats have a tongue and groove arrangement formed on their sidewalls and the slats are secured by toenailing through the tongue portion. Although there are a number of automatic nailing guns which are suitable for performing this operation, thus speeding up the installation, it is still a time consuming operation. Still further, many of the hard woods used for flooring have a tendency to split when the nail is driven. In order to prevent this splitting, it then becomes necessary to pre-drill a pilot hole for the nail. This is again very time consuming and thus increases the expense of installation.

Still further, wood floors, in high traffic areas, are subject to a wear factor. After a certain period of time, it becomes necessary to refinish the floors which typically comprises an operation to remove the old surface coating by means of a sander and subsequently refinishing the floors. This operation is one which requires some skill on the part of the operator of the sander in order to maintain a level and smooth surface. It is also an extremely messy and possibly health threatening operation as fine particles of dust spread throughout the area. Before applying the coating to the wood, all dust particles must be removed; this is often a tedious process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a flooring system for installing a plurality of elongated slats, the system being one wherein installation is substantially faster than the use of nails.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system for the installation of wood slats having a tongue and groove configuration.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a connector suitable for use in installing elongated slats having a tongue and groove arrangement.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a method for installing elongated hardwood slats to form a floor.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flooring system for installing a floor of individual boards, each board comprising an elongated slat having a top wall, a bottom wall, and first and second opposed sidewalls, a groove formed in the first sidewall, a first recessed portion formed in the first sidewall below the groove, the recess extending to the bottom wall, a tongue formed on the second sidewall, the tongue being sized and shaped to fit within the groove formed in the first sidewall, a second recess formed in the second sidewall, the second recess being located below the tongue and above the bottom wall, a substantially vertical abutting surface being located below the second recess, and a plurality of connectors, each of the connectors being formed of a plastic material, each connector having a main body portion sized to fit within the first recessed portion formed in the first sidewall, a lip extending outwardly from the body portion, the lip being sized to engage the recess formed in the second sidewall, a substantially vertical abutting surface being located below and inwardly of the lip, the body portion having a thickness substantially greater than the thickness of the lip.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a floor comprised of a plurality of elongated slats, each slat having a top wall, a bottom wall, and first and second opposed sidewalls, the slats being laid in a side by side relationship with a first sidewall of the first slat abutting a second sidewall of a second slat, a groove formed in each of the first sidewalls, a first recessed portion formed in each of the bottom walls below the groove, the recess extending to the bottom wall, a tongue formed on each of the second sidewalls, the tongue fitting within the groove of an adjacent slat, a second recessed portion formed in each of the second sidewalls below the tongue portion, a substantially vertical abutting surface being located below the second recess, and a plurality of discrete connectors, each connector being formed of a plastic material comprising a body portion and a lip extending from the body portion, the body portion fitting within the first recess below the groove in the first sidewalls, and the lip portion engaging the second recessed portion in the second sidewalls, a substantially vertical abutting surface being located below and inwardly of the lip, each of the connectors being secured to a substrate by a fastener extending through the body portion, the body portion having a thickness substantially greater than the thickness of the lip portion.

A method of installing a wood floor comprising a plurality of elongated slats, each slat having a top wall, a bottom wall and first and second opposed sidewalls, a groove formed in each of said first sidewall, a first recessed portion formed in said first sidewall below said groove, said recess extending to said bottom wall, a tongue formed on said second sidewall, said tongue being sized and shaped to fit within said groove formed in said first sidewall, and a second recess formed in said second sidewall, said second recess being located below said tongue and above said bottom wall, a substantially vertical abutting surface being located below said second recess, the method comprising the steps of supplying a plurality of connectors, each of said connecters being formed of a plastic material having a main body portion sized to fit within said first recessed portion formed in said first sidewall, and having a lip extending outwardly from said body portion, placing a slat on a substrate, placing a connector against said second sidewall such that said lip engages said recess formed in said second sidewall, securing said body portion to said substrate, and continuing to place subsequent slats in a side by side abutting relationship with a connector retaining each slat in position.

The connector used in the present invention has a first portion thereof which is adapted to be secured to the substrate. Typically, the substrate is of a wood material such as a plywood or composite wood material. The connector will be secured to the substrate by mechanical means and in particular by a member having a head portion and a leg portion extending through the connecting member into the substrate. Such fasteners may be staples or brads.

The connector is formed of a material which will enable the staple or brad to extend therethrough and to this end, a plastic material may be utilized.

The connecter is designed to be used, as aforementioned, in a flooring system comprising a plurality of slats engaged in an abutting side by side relationship. To this end, the slats are formed with a modified tongue and groove arrangement along with recessed portions to receive the connector.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, one longitudinally extending side of the connector will have a groove formed therein. Located below the groove is a recess which is sized and adapted to receive the main body portion of the connector.

The other side of the slat will have a tongue portion extending outwardly to engage the groove within an adjacent slat. The side will also have a groove formed below the tongue and which groove is designed to receive a lip portion of the connector.

The second side of the slat will also include a substantially vertically extending wall portion situated below the groove. This arrangement is provided such that the connector may abut against this vertical wall and will be used for pushing the slat into position.

In a preferred embodiment, the groove designed to receive the tongue portion preferably has an overall generally V-shaped configuration. In the even more preferred embodiment, the groove is defined by upper and lower groove walls. Each of the upper and lower groove walls preferably have initially generally parallel portions adjacent the sidewall and which end tapered inwardly to formed the V-shaped configuration. It is been found that this arrangement provides for a more solid locking arrangement and also prevents splintering of the wood.

An advantage of the present system is that the wood slats can have a thickness substantially less than that which is conventionality required. In the industry, the slats typically have a thickness in the order of 1.9 cm. This thickness is required in order that the slats can be nailed without splitting.

According to the present invention, a preferred embodiment provides for a slat thickness in the order of 0.95 cm. This reduced thickness has a number of advantages. As will be appreciated, from the same amount of lumber, one is able to increase the amount of flooring obtained. Further more, due to the reduced thickness, the board can be somewhat more flexible in order to adapt to any substrate irregularities.

In a preferred embodiment, the first recessed portion preferably comprises a continuous recess which has width of between of 6 and 20 mm and a depth of between 2.5 and 5 mm. The second recess preferably extends inwardly at a distance of between 1.5 and 5 mm.

The connector can be of any length desired although typically it would have a length of between 2 and 3 cm. The connector is sized such that the body portion fits within the first recessed portion and preferably, will have a depth of slightly less than the width of the continuous recess and will have a thickness again slightly smaller than the depth of the continuous recess-normally the thickness would be between 2.5 and 4.5 mm. The lip portion will be designed to fit within the second recess. Preferably, the lip portion may also include a small prong extending outwardly to engage the slat within the second groove.

The flooring system of the present invention is extremely adaptable and indeed the boards or slats can be removed and reused. In the case of excess wear on the boards they can be removed and could be sent for factory refinishing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus generally described the invention, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings illustrating an embodiment thereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a slat and associated connector according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a plurality of board installed to form the flooring system of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of one of the slats;

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view of a further embodiment of a slat according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an end elevational view thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings in greater detail and by reference characters thereto, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a slat 10 which has a top wall 12 and a bottom wall 14. A first sidewall is designated generally by reference numeral 16 and a second sidewall is designated generally by reference numeral 18.

As is conventional, a plurality of bottom wall grooves 20 are formed in bottom wall 14.

There is provided a recess 22 generally adjacent first sidewall 16 and which recess 22 is defined by recess top wall 24 and a recess sidewall 26. Recess 22 is generally of a rectangular configuration for reasons which will become apparent hereinbelow.

Formed in first sidewall 16 is a groove generally designated by reference numeral 28. Groove 28 is defined by a groove upper wall generally designated by reference numeral 30 and a groove lower wall generally designated by reference numeral 32.

Groove upper wall 30 has a horizontal or straight portion 34 which emerges with an inwardly tapered portion 36. Similarly, groove lower wall 32 has an initial horizontal portion 38 and an inwardly tapered portion 40 which meets with inwardly tapered portion 36 of groove upper wall 30. There is thus defined a generally V-shaped groove 28.

On second sidewall 18, a tongue 42 is formed. Tongue 42 is defined by a tongue upper wall 44 which has a horizontal portion 46 and a tapered portion 48. Similarly, a tongue lower wall 50 has a horizontal portion 52 and a tapered portion 54. Tongue 42 is designed to fit within the groove 28 of an adjacent slat.

Located below tongue 42 is a rectangular recess generally designated by reference numeral 56. As will be noted from FIG. 3, below rectangular recess 56 second sidewall 18 extends substantially vertically as indicated by reference numeral 58.

The flooring system of the present invention uses connectors, one of which is best seen in FIGS. 5 and 6 and designated by reference numeral 66. Connector 66 has a main body portion 68 which is of a rectangular configuration which there extends downwardly a lip 70. As it will be noted, lip 70 is also of a rectangular configuration and there is provided a sidewall 71 which is vertical and designed to abut vertical wall section 58 of second side 18. The lip also includes a plurality of prongs 75 which will engage slat 10 within groove 56.

In the illustrated embodiment, main body portion 68 includes an aperture 72. Aperture 72 may be provided in one or more of the connectors 66 when it is desired to use a fastening means such as a screw to secure the connectors 66 to a substrate. However, normally such aperture would not be provided unless shown in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2.

For securement purposes, a staple generally designated by reference numeral 74 may be utilized to secure connector 66 to a substrate. Each staple 74 includes a top portion 76 and a pair of legs 78, 80. For installing the floor according to the present invention, a first slat 10 is placed in position adjacent a wall or the like. First slat 10 may be secured to prevent the same from moving by any suitable means including by abutment against an adjacent member, adhesive, or mechanical fastening means.

Subsequently, connectors are utilized to secure each and every slat in position. In this respect, the abutment of wall 71 against vertical wall section 58 of second sidewall 18 ensures that the board is properly positioned. Preferably, force is exerted on each connector 66 as it is secured in place, preferably by an automated stapling system.

As shown in FIG. 4, a somewhat different tongue and groove system could be utilized. In this embodiment, there is provided a rectangular groove 84 designed to receive a substantially rectangular tongue 86.

It will be understood that the above described embodiments are for purposes of illustration only and that changes or modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A flooring system for installing a floor of individual boards, each board comprising an elongated slat having a top wall, a bottom wall, and first and second opposed sidewalls; a groove formed in said first sidewall, a first recessed portion formed in said first sidewall below said groove, said recess extending to said bottom wall; a tongue formed on said second sidewall, said tongue being sized and shaped to fit within said groove formed in said first sidewall; a second recess formed in said second sidewall, said second recess being located below said tongue and above said bottom wall, a substantially vertical abutting surface being located below said second recess; and a plurality of connectors, each of said connectors being formed of a plastic material, each connector having a main body portion sized to fit within said first recessed portion formed in said first sidewall, a lip extending outwardly from said body portion, said lip being sized to engage said recess formed in said second sidewall, a substantially vertical abutting surface being located below and inwardly of said lip, said body portion having a thickness substantially greater than the thickness of said lip.
 2. The flooring system of claim 1 wherein said connectors are formed of a polypropylene material.
 3. The flooring system of claim 1 wherein said groove formed in said first sidewall has a generally V-shaped configuration, said groove being defined by an upper groove wall and a lower groove wall, each of said upper and lower groove walls each having an initial generally parallel portion adjacent said first sidewall, said parallel portion merging with respect of inwardly tapered portions to form said generally V-shaped configuration.
 4. The flooring system of claim 1 wherein said main body portion of each of said connectors has an aperture formed therein.
 5. The flooring system of claim 2 wherein said main body portion of said apertures is solid.
 6. The flooring system of claim 1 wherein each of said lips of said connectors has at least one prong extending outwardly therefrom.
 7. A floor comprised of a plurality of elongated slats, each slat having a top wall, a bottom wall, and first and second opposed sidewalls, said slats being laid in a side by side relationship with a first sidewall of first slat abutting a second sidewall of a second slat, a groove formed in each of said first sidewalls, a first recessed portion formed in each of said bottom walls below said groove, said recess extending to said bottom wall; a tongue formed on each of said second sidewalls, said tongue fitting within said groove of an adjacent slat; a second recessed portion formed in each of said second sidewalls below said tongue portion, a substantially vertical abutting surface being located below said second recess; and a plurality of connectors, each connector being formed of a plastic material comprising a body portion and a lip extending from said body portion, said body portion fitting within said first recess below said groove in said first sidewalls, and said lip portion engaging said second recessed portion in said second sidewalls, a substantially vertical abutting surface being located below and inwardly of said lip, each of said connectors being secured to a substrate by a fastener extending through said body portion, said body portion having a thickness substantially greater than the thickness of said lip portion.
 8. The floor of claim 7 wherein each of said connectors is secured to said substrate by means of a fastening member having a head, and at least one leg, said at least one leg extending through said body portion.
 9. The floor of claim 8 wherein said first recessed portion formed in said sidewall comprises a continuous recess.
 10. The floor of claim 8 wherein said continuous recess has a width of between 6 mm and 20 mm and a depth of between 3 mm and 5 mm.
 11. The floor of claim 8 wherein said second recess extends inwardly a distance of between 15 mm and 5 mm.
 12. The floor of claim 9 wherein said connectors are spaced apart a distance of between 10 cm and 15 cm.
 13. A method of installing a wood floor comprising a plurality of elongated slats, each slat having a top wall, a bottom wall and first and second opposed sidewalls, a groove formed in each of said first sidewall, a first recessed portion formed in said first sidewall below said groove, said recess extending to said bottom wall, a tongue formed on said second sidewall, said tongue being sized and shaped to fit within said groove formed in said first sidewall, and a second recess formed in said second sidewall, said second recess being located below said tongue and above said bottom wall, a substantially vertical abutting surface being located below said second recess, the method comprising the steps of supplying a plurality of connectors, each of said connecters being formed of a plastic material having a main body portion sized to fit within said first recessed portion formed in said first sidewall, and having a lip extending outwardly from said body portion, placing a slat on a substrate, placing a connector against said second sidewall such that said lip engages said recess formed in said second sidewall, securing said body portion to said substrate, and continuing to place subsequent slats in a side by side abutting relationship with a connector retaining each slat in position. 